How to avoid burnout while “WFH”?
6 tricks for maintaining healthy productivity during quarantines
Burn out? In work from home? Nooo... Nooo…
Well… Yes!
Most of us have limited experience with WFH. And when done once in a while — sitting in bed, with a Mac in our lap, sipping coffee, and occasionally binging on Netflix — WFH can be quite refreshing.
But, the Covid-19 quarantine has forced many of us to do an extended period of WFH for the first time and it can lead to burn-outs if not done properly.
Here’s Why?
Workplace and Us
Going to the office is not just about getting things done and moving up the corporate ladder. Our work & our workplace serve many other latent psychological needs.
1 — Workplace segregates work and play
Going to the office allows us to have a fixed time & space for our work and helps our brains relax when we are at home or outside the office.
2 — Workplace offers our daily dose of socializing
Office time is interspersed with unproductive stuff like chit-chats, banters and ineffective meetings :D which are also important for mental health and sanity.
3 — Workplace provides a sense of belonging
With the collapse of joint families, local community and religion, work is one of the few modern structures where we get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
When we do WFH, we strip off some of the psychological benefits of work, and what is left behind is just “working”. Don’t get me wrong, “working” in itself has many psychological rewards, but those are still a bit fewer than what “working in a workplace” offers.
6 tricks to avoid burn-out while WFH
So, here are a few tips on how we can all avoid getting mentally fatigued while WFH. Most of these tips come from a few close friends who have been working remotely for more than 5 years.
1 — Limit your working hours
When you are in an office, you are only working after reaching and before leaving office. Do something similar when you are WFH. Limit your working hours to a fixed schedule. You can always leave some work for tomorrow!
2 — Maintain your routine and keep time for leisure
Going to office naturally divides our day into work and leisure. With most things before and after office, being leisure. Also, we take fixed long and short breaks while working
Do all that during your WFH as well— do your workout before starting, take lunch and snack breaks, move around, read books & watch TV once you are done.
3 — Set and Stick to Daily Priorities
Some would argue — you should set priorities no matter where you are working from. And they are right! However, when you are WFH, you are the captain of your day. So, it becomes much more important to know what is it that you want to accomplish every day.
4 — Don’t work in your bed
If possible, dedicate a different room in the house for your work. But if, like me, you live in a 1 bedroom apartment, at least mark a separate space for work. I have designated my study table as my workspace.
No matter what, do not work in your bed. You will be mixing work with pleasure and that’s never a good idea. Plus, it affects the quality of your sleep ;-)
5 — Find occasions for friendly conversations
Rather than jumping into work, you can start your teleconferences with some chit-chats and banters. “Ask other folks how they are taking the quarantine?”
6 — Send updates and ask for feedback
This one is for belongingness. Some times while WFH, we may feel that we are drifting apart. That’s the time to pull others in. Send out a quick update or ask a colleague or a mentor for some feedback on the work that you have done. Reach out!
Finally, no matter what we do, for some of us, WFH will always be a poor substitute for “Working in the office”. And yet, like many other things, it is a reality we don’t deserve but need to accept right now. I am sure we all will survive this period and will come out stronger.
By the way, if you are feeling some loneliness during quarantine, you can check out this other story.
If you have more any questions on how to better survive quarantines, drop me a note on vishweshwar.vivek@gmail.com
